I like to brag about my “award-winning banana bread.” A few years back, a few of us had a banana bread bake-off that involved blind taste tests – and I won. Fair. And. Square. (And I never let my friend Marisa forget it.)

The ingredients in this recipe are oceans away from the award-winning recipe (which has finally been revealed), but it’s almost as delicious. I made it because this morning I woke up famished, but without any milk or eggs in the house. As I searched the kitchen for something better than toast, I found three brown bananas hanging out in the freezer. Bingo!

Next, I went in search of a recipe that would meet my ingredient requirements and landed on this one from Cheap & Simple Vegan recipes. I made several tweaks, including substituting real butter for vegan butter – which is why it’s *almost* vegan. Here’s my version. (I was too hungry to take pictures during the process. Sorry!)

Ingredients:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (you can use vegan butter here)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Beat bananas in your standing mixer (or mash by hand). Add melted butter until combined.
3. Add applesauce, vanilla, sugar, and salt and mix to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Pour into a loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes.

This was surprisingly similar to my very non-vegan award-winning recipe! It was moist, with a crispy outer crust (which is how we prefer it) and a sweet banana flavor. If you don’t love a crispy top, you can take the the advice of Mara (of Cheap & Simple Vegan Recipes) and cover your bread with tin foil after 15 minutes of baking.

Enjoy!